1. Introduction
2. Placental blood circulation
2.1. Maternal-placental blood circulation
2.2. Fetal-placental circulation
3. Structure of the placenta
4. Cell types of the placenta
4.1. Cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts
4.2. Villous core stroma cells
4.3. Pericytes/endothelial cells
5. Oxygen tension and placental vascular development
5.1. Oxygen tension and establishment of maternal-placental circulation
5.2. Hypoxia and trophoblast differentiation
5.3. Models of placental hypoxia
6. Vasculogenesis and angiogenesis of human placenta
7. Angiogenic factors
7.1. VEGF family molecules and VEGF receptors
7.2. FGFs and FGF receptors
7.3. Angiopoietins and tie system
8. Vasoactivators and placental vasoactivity
8.1. Renin-angiotensin system
8.2. Arachidonic acid metabolites: thromboxane and prostacyclin
8.3. Endothelin-1 and its receptors
8.4. Nitric oxide
8.5. Chymase
8.6. Role of trophoblasts in regulation of placental vasoactivity
9. Lymphatic phenotypic characteristics of the human placenta
10. Placental tissue and cord blood stem cells
11. Summary
Acknowledgment
References.